The Ateneo de Manila University Junior High School must probe the bullying incident in its premises, Malacañang said Friday as it expressed concern after a video “depicting an evident act of violence” among its students went viral.
In other developments:
• The Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Friday threatened to expel any student found guilty of gave misconduct after a bullying incident involving two grade 11 students went viral on social media.
In a statement, university president Jose Ramon Villarin said the school management would never tolerate bullying inside the school.
• The Department of Education on Friday reminded public and private schools about the enforcement of anti-bullying policies.
In a statement, the department urged kindergarten, elementary and secondary public and private schools to implement its Child Protection Policy.
• Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday urged officials of Ateneo de Manila University and its parents to address the bullying issue at the school involving junior high school students.
“These things happen everywhere, in private and public schools, in exclusive and non-exclusive schools. The school administration and the parents have the principal responsibility to address this concern,” said Guevarra, an Ateneo alumni and a former law professor at the university.
Senators Francis Pangilinan, Nancy Binay and Bam Aquino on Friday appealed to the netizens who verbally attacked on social media a teenager caught bullying other high school students.
Pangilinan said bullying should never be tolerated and left unpunished, but the punishment should be child-appropriate and consistent with the anti-bullying law.
Binay said bullying does not end by bullying the bully.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said he was bothered by the video that apparently involved minors and even a young taekwondo practitioner.
“Yeah, I watched that. I was bothered by what I saw. I think they should investigate, first, why there was such a one-sided fight, given the fact that the one who mauled was much smaller,” Panelo told reporters.
“But I said, maybe there was something that triggered [him] because they have been saying that that boy should undergo psychiatric exams. Maybe there was something that triggered his anger.”
After saying he was taken aback that a small taekwondo practitioner initiated the act of bullying, Panelo added that the school must investigate the matter.
“There must be an investigation. I think we should investigate this. The school should investigate the incident and do something about it. You cannot be allowing bullying inside the classroom and school. Besides, there is a law against that,” Panelo said.
On Thursday, a video of the incident showing a student challenging his schoolmate to a fight inside a comfort room went viral, causing a public uproar on social media after Filipino netizens were quick to react on the matter.
The Philippine Taekwondo Association condemned the bullying incident.
In its statement on Thursday, the group said it “condemns any form of misbehavior that includes harassment, bullying and acts of violence.” With Rio N. Araja, Rey E. Requejo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and PNA
READ: PTA probes student bully